When I Grow Up

So I’ve been a little silent blogwise for a few months. I went through some highlights & some low points during my first 10 years of living here in NYC. Well I should probably play a little catch up for those of you that don’t know how this year has been. 2010 has had some major improvements that’s for sure. Earlier in the year I found out that my rent was going up for the place I was staying at on West 56th st. At the same time my friends Jude & Brad were moving out of their apartment. Brad was getting a place on his own & Jude was gonna need a roommate. It made perfect sense for us to move in together, only the powers that be thought not. I learned my credit was a little crappy due to the amount of hospital bills I had incurred after the tumor. It was like, “Gee thanks, you’ve survived the tumor but now your credit score will take a major hit.” So all the places we were looking were asking for like 4-5 months rent up front which was ridiculous. The whole reason for me wanting to move was to not pay insane amounts of rent. Mind you, yes I could have moved to Brooklyn or Queens or somewhere else but after you get used to living in the center of everything you get a little picky. So sadly after trying a few months & dealing with a shady broker AND Jude even living with me in my tiny apartment for a week, we gave up. He found an apt uptown & I ended up finding a wonderful apartment with some cool peeps. It’s the biggest apartment I think I have ever been in. It’s a 4 bedroom apartment & I have 3 other roommates, the most I have ever had in my life. At one point while we were transitioning roommates there was 5 of us for a couple weeks. But, all in all these people are wonderful. I really lucked up & I’m glad to have found it. It’s even closer to my work & I’m still in my HK area and paying less than what I was paying. Once again, everything works out for a reason.

Work wise it’s been frustration after frustration. Ok, more like roller coaster of happy things versus stagnant things. I received all these extra duties & working with a different department which I was very happy about. Only NO raise. Then I think about others who are less fortunate & I’m happy to have a job. With these new responsibilities I’ve been taking a lot less breaks & working a lot of overtime so that helps I suppose but I still find myself frustrated. During this frustration I decided to start doing the stuff I really love anyway. I got a part on Law & Order SVU playing a college aged delinquent. When I was cast I thought, “Are you kidding me right now? I haven’t been to college since the 90’s!” My ego then started to inflate. Then the day of the shoot I was working with 3 other guys & one of them was telling me how he was too young to get into a club. My ego was quickly deflated. It was a one day stint & I never even saw the episode because this was during the crazy apartment search period where I barely had time for anything. I still feel bad because my crew in North Carolina was on Nick watch for this & as far as I know no one saw it. Now had I actually watched the show & been a fan maybe I would have been a little more aggressive about watching it. Meanwhile, I was just happy for the check & to have something restart the acting resume.

Shortly after I also got some work playing a Shirtless Dj/Bartender on a show that’s premiering sometime soon on Comedy Central. I’m not exactly sure when yet but believe me I’ll be letting everyone know when to watch it. It’s a show produced by Will Ferrell & stars Horatio Sanz & Chris Parnell. I’ve been a big fan of those guys since their days on SNL. Spending the day half clothed was quite funny & when I told my friends about it they said, “Wow, what a stretch for you!” I also got to spend the day working with my friend Kevin which was cool. Since then the clothes thing seems to really be coming into play. I was up for a part of a stripper on a show for Showtime starring Laura Linney but alas was not cast. It’s funny because I think about when I was much younger & I would tell my mom about how I was doing a play & the first thing she would say is, “Do you keep your clothes on?” I can only imagine her thoughts now….. if we actually spoke.

At the beginning of summer I started auditioning for plays again as well. At my first one the director had me dance & then read a very short scene from the play. Then he wanted me to take my shirt off. After a look or so he said, ‘Thanks!” & I was out the door. Feeling like I must have sucked or that I was not with the best body, I just figured that was it. A few days later I got a call that I was cast as this ’straight jock type’ of character. Please picture my face. For all of you who knew me from high school this was the furtherest thing from me at all. Ummm, even now. I don’t watch sports. I get bored & would rather be doing something else. So I started rehearsals for this play & after a few days decided I needed to quit. The direction was all over the place & after reading the whole play I thought ‘This sucks!’ This was not how I wanted my first play in years to be & I surely couldn’t invite people I know to come & see me in it. So another play & another audition & what did he have me read for? A straight jock type who is married to a woman but kind of questioning his sexuality. Hmmmm ok then. By the end of the audition I felt like I was giving a variation of the Situation from the Jersey Shore. Fist pumping aside, that was that & I’m left thinking I may need to get my friends who love sports to give me a sports 101. I mean if this is the kind of stuff I’m gonna have to read for then I may need to get a little better at it. So any one with tips send them my way (hint hint Ej & Chase). No worries though on the slutty bartender/dancer/stripper/dj stuff I’m a natural.

In a nutshell that’s how life has been going. Still managing to go out on the weekends & get a little crazy with my boys & somehow my recent fan base of boys have been in the early 20’s set. But ahhhh, those are all stories for a different blog. As most of you know this week starts the week of Nickakah 2010. I’m sure it’s gonna get crazy & I can’t wait to give you all the juicy details.